Dan Churchill's The Epic Table

Latest Episodes:

BB Arrington on What is True Wellness? May 04, 2022

Show notes

Team, today I had the absolute pleasure of having BB Arrington in the Kitchen Studio. BB is a certified personal trainer, holistic nutritionist, and sustainability advocate. In today’s episode, we discuss what health truly is from a holistic lens, focusing specifically on food and nutrition. BB has a very unique approach to defining and addressing health. Part of her modality relies on looking for imbalances in the human body through blood work and stool tests, while then using the information to help people make lifestyle changes that will ultimately help them heal. BB discusses how spiritual, mental, and physical health are all connected and how we can make changes in each specific pilar to improve our health overall. Not only do we discuss health, but we dive into sustainability and its importance in the wellness space. In today’s episode we specifically discuss:

What is the difference between functional medicine and Western medicine?
What do we mean by health?
Health is vitality
How is your performance?
What foods cause inflammation in the body?
How to avoid inflammation?
What are the three main causes of inflammation?
How does wearable tech improve lives?

I loved having BB in the studio and if you enjoyed this episode, be sure to connect with BB at the links below:

BB’s Website
BB’s Instagram

If you want to try my Charley St. Chorizo and Bolognese, click HERE

Chris Hinshaw on How to Increase Aerobic Capacity Apr 27, 2022

Show notes

Chris is the founder of aerobic capacity and is widely considered one of the top endurance coaches in the world. Chris is known internationally for his extensive knowledge and practical experience developing aerobic capacity in athletes of all experience levels using his comprehensive, cutting-edge approach to training. This man is an absolute weapon. Chris started competing professionally when he was around 17 years old doing his first Iron Man, and is currently a professional triathlete with a 2nd place overall finish at the Hawaiian Ironman World Championships, 2nd place overall finish at the Ironman World Championships in Canada, and a 1st place overall finish at Ironman Brazil. Team, Chris is at the top of the game when it comes to understanding training for triathlons. He has been the coach to 32 CrossFit Games Champions, 10x Ironman Competitors, and has over 14 years of CrossFit experience. Through his vast experience in the training field, he founded Aerobic Capacity to help athletes improve their endurance training, and optimize their performance to excel in CrossFit, Ironmans, triathlons, and any fitness goals you have. In today’s episode we discuss:

The importance of rest for recovery
How to increase recovery time to beat fatigue?
How to manipulate recovery to optimize performance
How can you develop aerobic capacity?
How do you balance cardio and strength training?
How long does it take to prepare for an Ironman?
How do I get in shape for CrossFit?

If you are looking to receive truly high-quality information on how to improve your aerobic capacity and endurance and learn how to train your body to be balanced and optimized for any long distance or high-intensity training goals you want to achieve, definitely checkout aerobiccapacity.com and follow Chris at the following links:

Chris’s Instagram
Aerobic Capacity’s Instagram

ALSO, if you are a FIRST RESPONDER, a firefighter, or in the military, Chris will get you an epic program for FREE. So make sure you head to aerobiccapacity.com and enter your email.

Dr. Robin Thorpe on How To Improve Your Recovery & Performance Apr 20, 2022

Show notes

Team, today’s episode is with Doctor Robin Thorpe. Dr. Thorpe is an absolute weapon. He is the previous Head of Recovery & Regeneration Sports Science at Manchester United. He also works with the NBA, the MLB and has helped train world-class track and field athletes as well as Olympic gold medalists and world record holders, helping them perform at the highest level.

In today’s episode we discuss:

Best methods to improve recovery
What is the best form of recovery?
How to manage stress?
How do you mitigate stress?
The benefits of morning light exposure
How to acclimate to new environments to beat jet lag
How to improve your HRV

Overall, this episode is an amazing and efficient way to identify specific actions that will allow you to improve your performance. Performance isn’t strictly tied to sports and athletic pursuits, but rather the quality of work you get done in every aspect of your life. Improving our performance is essential. Connect with Dr. Thorpe at the following links:

Dr. Thorpe’s Instagram
Dr. Thorpe’s Twitter

Drew Levich on How to Build a Sustainable Business Apr 13, 2022

Show notes

Legends, today’s guest is Drew Levich, the founder of Drew’s Cookies. Drew graduated nearby from NYU with a degree in economics and proceeded to sell a few successful businesses. We all hear that money doesn’t buy happiness, and it’s true. At a certain point Drew felt completely empty inside and after a trip to Kenya and Rwanda and being back in nature, he felt a deep desire to do more in life, give back, and decrease humanity's carbon footprint. Team, this is something I’m huge on. I can’t stress enough the need for these conversations where we can dive into how a business can perform sustainably and help rather than harm the environment. After returning from his trip to Africa, Drew set his intentions on creating a business that helps people and the environment. He decided to make an epic cookie company called Drew’s Cookies which is about love and bringing people together from all walks of life using sweet treats as an agent for conversation, environmental philanthropy, and change on a corporate, local and global level. A pretty baller thing to acknowledge is that Drew’s Cookies gives away 100% of their profits for social good. As many of you legends know, my restaurant Charley St launched our CPG products which are now available nationwide in the U.S., and we work to be as sustainable as possible. Drew created the world’s first-ever fully paper cookie tray and Drew’s Cookies uses plant-based fiber replacement of legacy plastic packaging, avoids typical market plastic packaging, is earth-friendly, has no harm to earth packaging, CO2 reduction, and is recyclable. Needless to say, these legends are crushing it. In today’s episode we specifically discuss:

How to build a sustainable business?
What is a sustainable business?
How can I make my packaging more environmentally friendly?
What is the greenest packaging?
How to create social change through business
The importance of voting with your dollar

I really enjoyed this conversation. Drew is a legend and the innovation Drew’s Cookies is pushing is exciting. Connect with Drew and Drew’s Cookies at the following links:

Drew’s Cookies

Mirna Valerio on Redefining Professional Running & Dealing with Anxiety Mar 23, 2022

Show notes

Legends, I am stoked to bring you today’s episode with Mirna Valerio! Mirna started her blog, Fatgirlrunning, to document her journey through running as a larger woman in the world of thinner athletes. Her blog took off and after a long road of consistency, perseverance, determination of this woman who is now a professional athlete running for LuluLemon. Before becoming a professional athlete, Mirna was a cross-country coach and a teacher for 18 years while leading the diversity and inclusion program at her school. Her life trajectory changed when one day she was driving home from work and began experiencing significant chest pain and was rushed to the hospital. After many examinations, it was clear that she had a panic attack - which felt impossible to her because as she had previously thought, “Black people don’t have panic attacks.” Due to the extreme quantity of responsibilities she was taking on in her life, she wasn’t sleeping and was on track to an early death. The doctor asked her, “do you want to see your son grow up?” and from that moment forward, she changed the way she lived, from training and sleep to nutrition and everything in between. After breaking out her treadmill, she started running 5k’s every weekend in New York City and is now sponsored by Lululemon and LL Bean as well as multiple others. In addition to her athletic career, Mirna is also a speaker and the author of her memoir “A Beautiful Work in Progress.” In today’s episode we dive into her journey of becoming a professional athlete, her relationship with anxiety and the stereotypes that accompany being a Black person with anxiety as well as a deeper look into what it’s like being a Black woman in the United States. We specifically discuss:

Being a Black person with anxiety
How to become a professional athlete?
How can an athlete get sponsored?
Breaking stereotypes
What are symptoms of overworking?

Team, Mirna is a legend and this episode provides a unique look into her life and who she is. You can connect with her at the following links:

Minra’s Instagram
Mirna’s Website
Mirna’s Book

Joseph Abell On Building Will Power & Confidence Mar 10, 2022

Show notes

Will power is the ability to constantly change your default behavior and confidence is memory of past success

Team, one of the perks of having this podcast is the ability to talk with truly extraordinary and unique individuals. Today’s guest Joseph Abell is one of those people and has such an amazing story. He lost his dad at a young age and afterwards, his family became ultra-religious. Joseph made it a practice to analyze and examine the validity of the information he was being given in church and ended up debating the church’s teachings. This ultimately led to him getting kicked out and becoming homeless as he couldn’t stay with his family. After being home-schooled his entire life, Joseph ended up going to high school and won first place at nationals for speech and debate. This garnered national attention and in college he started teaching speech and debate. He built a company to teach people how to succeed at speech and debate and the company grew to the top of the industry and became the best in speech and debate coaching in the country, coaching multiple national champions. Joseph proceeded to receive the largest scholarship USC offers for Law School and is currently practicing law. While this story is already incredible, going from homeless to receiving the largest scholarship USC offers to practice law, he also is building his personal brand. Joseph wrote a book called “Unlimited Willpower” and has built his online following to over 700k people across his channels. In today’s episode we specifically discuss:

How to get into law school

How to get an internship
How to pass the bar
How to choose your firm

How to build confidence

What is confidence?
Start by accomplishing micro goals
Celebrate your small wins

You can find Joseph at the following links:

His Book
His IG
His TikTok

Carleigh Bodrug on Taking Control of Your Health | New York Times Best Selling Author of PlantYou Mar 02, 2022

Show notes

Are you looking to adopt more plants into your diet, build your personal brand, or maybe make a York Times best-selling cookbook?

Team, today’s episode is special. I had the pleasure of having Carleigh Bodrug, the creator of PlantYou, on the show today! Carleigh is truly a baller. After growing up on a meat and dairy diet, her father developed cancer. Shortly after, dairy and red meat became labeled as Group 1 and Group 2 Carcinogens. The very food her family was told to be eating day-in and day-out, almost took everything from them. Carleigh decided it was time to dive headfirst into plant-based cooking. While working at a hospital during the day, she began posting food pictures and recipes to a blog called PlantYou. After relentless hours of work, Carleigh built up her income from PlantYou to the point where her work with food was providing an equitable income to her hospital pay. Carleigh quit working at the hospital and never looked back. Since then, she has amassed over three million followers on social media and is now a New York Times Best-selling author for her new cookbook PlantYou.

In today’s episode we specifically dive into:

How to make plant-based food delicious
How to successfully become plant-based
How you can build lean muscle on a plant-based diet
How you can get enough protein on a plant-based diet to achieve your fitness and health goals
How plant-based diets improve your gut health
Why a plant-based diet is better for the environment
The plant-based food industry growth
How to write a cookbook
How to build your personal brand

You can connect with Carleigh at the following links:

Order PlantYou
Follow PlantYou on Instagram
Follow PlantYou on TikTok
Subscribe to PlantYou on YouTube
Checkout PlantYou’s website

How Do You Want To Be Remembered? | Dan Churchill On Building Your Personal Brand Feb 12, 2022

Show notes

Team! I hope you are all doing really well. We have some exciting episodes coming your way soon with some truly epic guests. As many of you know, I am a huge advocate for people’s personal brands. This topic of a personal brand is very interesting to me as many people equate a person’s brand to their number of followers on social media, their success, and other metrics. I for one have always seen that everyone has a personal brand. Whether you’re a mother, a surgeon, a farmer, an athlete, a social media personality or anyone else, you have a personal brand. So, how do I define a personal brand? That is one of the things I touch on in today’s episode along with how you can build your personal brand and start reaching your goals.

Specifically I discuss:

How to build your personal brand
What is a personal brand?
What is a personal brand example?
How do you personally brand yourself?
What makes a good personal brand?

I hope you receive some valuable takeaways from this episode, and remember that your values and your morals are the foundation of your brand and your identity.

You can connect with me at the following links:

Dale Moss on How to Reshape Your Identity Jan 27, 2022

Show notes

Have you ever wondered how professional athletes from small towns become the stars they are?
Team, in this week's episode I had the pleasure of talking shop with Dale Moss. Dale is a good friend of mine, he is an ex-NFL athlete, a model for Wilhemina Models, an actor, an entrepreneur, and the global ambassador for the Special Olympics. Needless to say, this man has got quite the story. While he has an extensive list of accolades and notable accomplishments, we dove into more of his personal life. Dale shared a lot today that he hasn’t talked much about before and revealed something that the Epic Table Legends are going to love… this man can cook! His mom used to cater food when he was growing up and her passion for cuisine translated into Dale taking the initiative to start cooking classes when he moved to NYC! We touch on this and so much more in this episode. A major theme we dive into is identity and how to reevaluate and restructure your identity throughout your many phases of life.

In this episode we specifically discuss:

Making it to the NFL from a small town in South Dakota of 6,000 people
How to handle the pressure and responsibility placed on athletic stars at a young age to excel in sports, provide for your family, and bring attention to the town.
The importance of family and a close-knit community

We also answer questions such as:

How can I become a model with no experience?
How can I start modeling?
How do you get players recruited?
How do athletes get recruited?
How do colleges recruit you?

These are all questions that Dale Moss, D1 athlete, former NFL wide receiver, model, and actor answered in today’s interview.

If you want to connect with Dale, you can find him at the following links:

Dale Moss Instagram

Dale Moss Website

Joanne Molinaro: The Korean Vegan on The Power of Intentional Eating Jan 19, 2022

Show notes

Legends! Today, the whole team had one of our personal favorites on the podcast. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Joanne Molinaro a.k.a The Korean Vegan. This amazing woman truly has a one-of-a-kind story. She went from being a lawyer to amassing TikTok fame essentially overnight. After posting videos of herself cooking while discussing topics such as BLM, LGBTQ+, AAPI, democracy on TikTok, she amassed a massive following and her life changed. Since then, Joanne has been featured on Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune, NBC, Food Network, Los Angeles Times, CNN, The Washington Post, NPR, CBS, and The Atlantic, and more impressively her cookbook ‘The Korean Vegan Cook Book’ received Cook Book of the Year from the New Yorker, Cook Book of 2021 from the New Yorker Times, and became a New York Times Bestseller. While all of her accomplishments are incredible, this isn't what we dive into today. In the episode, we discuss Joanne’s love for running, how she became plant-based, what her passions and values are, and we double down on her past with unhealthy eating habits and body image.

Specifically, we discuss:

How to stop letting fear control our lives
- The weight of financial security
Familial pressure to direct what you do with your life
How The Korean Vegan became vegan
- Listening to the Rich Roll podcast and reading ‘Finding Ultra’
- What movies should you watch when deciding to go vegan?
Joanne’s relationship with food
- Why you shouldn’t count calories
Male eating disorders
- Body image
- How to help men get over eating disorders
- How to help improve male body image

It was truly an honor to talk shop with Joanne Molinaro! Be on the lookout for her new cookbook coming out soon!

Connect with Joanne at the following links:

Her Website

Her Instagram

Her TikTok

Her YouTube